The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-03-05
THE BROOK BY THE WAYSlDE.
BY Rev. ]. COLEMAN ADAMS,
(Chicago.)

| snail drink from the Dr0oK Dy tne way
side; therefore shall he lift up his head"
| psalm cx. ~, Mr.. Adams said there
were some pleasures which our fore
fathers enjoyed which the present gen.
GRAFTON was unable to appreciate. A
cooling drink of the pure water of a
wayside brook was considered in times
past to be as good as that imprisoned in
a cooler and supposedly improved by
lump of ice. Few men in this busy
city and age, however, now spared the
time to drink from the brook. 1t re-
quired one to stoop, and such posture
necessitated expenditure of time.
There was figure in the text which
had pertinent application to the Amer
ican mode of life. Unlike the king of
Scripture, our people did not stop to
drink by the way. In their mad, eager
rush, they never rested nor relaxed.
The pressure which they permitted
themselves to steam under was in
comprehensive to their brother or faith
| er in the country, who took life more
easily and extracted, no doubt, much
more pleasure from it. The never
ceasing, constant application to busi-
ness pursuits with infrequent pleasures
and amusements was making its evil
effects apparent in the way men died.
They no longer wore out, but dropped
off suddenly, heart disease, paralysis,
and nervous prostration attesting to
the unwise practice of headlong haste.
In his pursuit of far-off objects, the
man of the present generation lost sight
of all the pleasures on the way. He
postponed all his enjoyments until his
future was created. He allowed him
self no amusements and no joys such
as God intended he should have. He
piled them all up, and declared that
he would first have fortune and then
favors. But when he amassed his for
tune he either died or was too worn out
to enjoy it. By the time his journey
was ended his limbs refused to carry
him the last step necessary to bring
him sunshine and cheerfulness.
What was the use, Mr.. Adams asked,
of piliDg up treasures that one could
never enjoy? What was the use of
.Fashing precipitately forward over the
road to success, and finding at the end
no strength to make that success sue
cessful? Why could we not learn to
mix pleasure with business, to take en-
joyments from day to day, and thus not
only lessen the mental and physical
strain, but render the task easier to
perform ? There were simple and nat
ural pleasures in reach of all, which,
like the cooling waters of the wayside
brook, slaked the thirst for time and
enabled man to complete his journey
without mortifying the body and mind.
The trouble was, though, that people of
to-day confused pleasures with amuse-
ments. Few men in America could
find any pleasure without spending frop
ST. to $400, or travelling from one to 500
miles. They seemed to think that pleas
ure was hustle, travel or excitement,
and failed to recognize that the effects
of such amusements were little differ
ent from the effects of hard work. The
American recognized pleasure only in
a dress suit, an opera box, or a trip to
Europe. Tell him if he wanted pleas
ure he must find it at the breakfast
table, in an early morning walk, or
some 9th er healthful or light studious
exercise, and he would put you down
as mild crank.
Amusements in our day were either
such as wore out the mental and physi-
cal being or it cost so much that the en-
| joyment was dashed to the ground in
pieces. Take social amusement, for
example. A blessed religious observ-
ance would shortly come in the season
of Lent when the jaded faculties of
society men and women would happily
| be accorded rest. The trains would
carry throngs away in the next few days
seeking change and relaxation from
the drain which the season had put
upon them, and many would no doubt
exclaim: "Oh what pleasure, what a
pleasure in lack of pleasurel" Many
of our amusements would be less ex-
hausting and more amusing if they did
not take away night sleep and lead to
useless expense and costumes which
solicited and welcomed pneumonia and
rheumatism. 1t was much to be hoped
that later generation would bring
judgment and reason to its aid and
make its pleasures more pleasant and
less expensive, and its amusements less
hurtful to the health and more amusing.
Pleasure if not amusement, could be
derived also from the observance of
those little social amenities of life in
which so many people were wanting.
A great many people lost real pleasure
in life by never uttering the word fifty
spoken and giving the answer which
turneth away wrath. Little ''if you
please's, ""excuse mes, ,""thank you's,"
and 'never minds" were the lubricators
of the machinery of life. We suffered
ourselyes to fall into bluff and brusuue